


marked.

by ohemacagee



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2019-10-29 11:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17807234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohemacagee/pseuds/ohemacagee
Summary: "If you’re just going to stare at me, you could at least say hello you know.”





	1. Chapter 1

It was common knowledge that every child was born with a soulmate. A name would appear somewhere on the body when a person turned 13 years old. It was also common knowledge that you were destined to meet your soulmate. But, there was no certainty of when it would happen, how it would happen. No time telling you when you meet them, no sudden feeling of clarity. However, once you did meet your soulmate and fell in love with them, your tattoo would turn red. It wasn’t an exact science, the universe still made people jump through hoops to find the one they were meant to be with. At the end of the day though, each person knew that there was someone out there. Someone made just for them.

She had heard this story every since she was five years old. Aubrey thought this soulmate business was bullshit. A name didn’t mean happily ever after or sunshine and rainbows. She had watched her father fall apart after her mother passed away and in no way wanted to experience life without a soulmate. He was much more at peace now, but she could still see the sadness in his eyes.

Her tattoo had come in when she was thirteen, just like everyone else’s. In neat clean script on her left side ribs was a clear name; Anastasia. When she had told her father he had been over the moon that his daughter had discovered her soulmate. He told her how amazing of a life she would have with Anastasia and how the universe had planned for the two of them to meet when the time was right.

Aubrey hoped she would never meet her. She had no interest in someone showing up in her world unannounced and changing it entirely. She liked her life just the way it was, thank you very much.

She was starting her sophomore year at Barden University and had a strict schedule to adhere to if she wanted to maintain her stellar academic standing. Her salvation came in the form of one Chloe Beale. If Aubrey was organized, particular, and decisive Chloe Beale was decidedly not. They were randomly assigned as roommates last year and Chloe had worked persistently at bringing down Aubrey’s carefully constructed walls.

They worked well together. Chloe was the friend that Aubrey never had, someone who pushed her to get out of her comfort zone and who allowed her to let loose and relax. For Chloe, Aubrey was the only person that could keep her on task and focused. The two complimented each other perfectly, it was no wonder they were such good friends. Still, Aubrey was a very private person and despite Chloe’s persistence, she never told her about the name she had tattooed. Even with Chloe’s tendency to burst in while she was showering in order to work on their duets for the Bellas, Chloe still didn’t know. Unfortunately, Aubrey knew everything about Chloe’s tattoo. Chloe still hadn’t met Rebecca yet but her eyes shined with excitement every time she looked at the tattoo on her wrist. Aubrey thanked the universe that hers was so well hidden.

The pair had volunteered to work the Bellas booth at the start of the semester for the activities fair. Once they set up the booth, students came flocking hoping to sign up for a chance to join the esteemed Barden Bellas. After a couple of hours of this the girls had decided to start wrapping up when a small brunette girl walked up to their station.

“So, what do you guys do?” asked the petite girl.

“Hi! We’re the Barden Bellas, the only all female acapella group on campus. We make music using just our mouths.” Chloe beamed at the tiny girl. She was kind of cute. In the abrasive put probably had a heart of gold kind of way.

“I'm Chloe, by the way, and this is Aubrey.” Aubrey took one look at the girl and immediately decided this wouldn’t end well.

‘I’m Beca, nice to meet you guys.” Chloe’s smile grew impossibly wider at the name, Aubrey rolled her eyes internally knowing that Beca was a potential nickname for her soulmate. Aubrey waited for Chloe to respond but all the redhead seemed to be able to do was engage in a staring contest with the brunette and oh crap that ear monstrosity was deplorable. Chloe continued to smile at Beca after a minute of this so Aubrey decided it was time to intervene.

“Here’s our flier, auditions are next Friday. See you then!” Aubrey firmly grabbed ahold of Chloe’s arm and steered her away from Beca.

“You can’t just creepily stare at people, Chloe! That’s not how we recruit.” Aubrey admonished. Though she understood Chloe’s excitement, just smiling at your crush wasn’t going to help in anyways.

“I know, but she was so cute! Did you see her little headphones tattoo? And her eyes? Oh my god, I could just stare into them all day.” Chloe finished with a dreamy look in her eyes.

“Mhmmm.” Aubrey could see the beginnings of a crush and Chloe showed know signs of stopping anytime soon. Plus, Aubrey had other things on her mind. Like her work schedule for the fall semester, finding a faculty mentor, she still needed to decided if wanted to run in the mornings or the evenings- that would decide her entire routine, plus there was that new smoothie place next to the quad she wanted to try, and not to mention-

“Are you even listening to me?” Chloe asked mostly concerned about Aubrey’s mental status. The girl hadn’t blinked for the past 30 seconds and it was getting creepy.

“Oh sorry, I zoned out for a second there. What were you saying?”

“There’s a joint party tomorrow night that the Tri-Deltas and the Kappas are throwing. It’s supposed to be a start of the year kick off and because we’re Bella’s we’re invited too!”

“Sorry, Chlo, but I have this…”

“Nope. You’re not backing out. I already told Laura we’re going”.

Aubrey sighed, there was no way to back out of this one if Laura thought she was going already. Laura was the junior captain of the Bellas and looked after Aubrey like a little sister. Parties weren’t her scene, but if both Chloe and Laura would be there it probably wouldn’t be too bad.

“Alright then, what’s the theme”.

“Ancient Greece!”

“That’s original.”

“At least the costumes will be easy! Now come on their handing out room assignments at the house tonight and I want to know which one we’ll get!” Chloe grinned and grabbed Aubrey’s arm practically dragging her across the quad to the Bellas house.

 

They got the south-facing bedroom on the second floor. Aubrey was somewhat surprised considering they were only sophomores and the room overlooked the lake, but when she looked up in surprise Laura just winked at her and moved on. The room had a huge window and a balcony.

They spent the next day shopping and getting accessories for their new room to make it look as homey as possible. Aubrey got a baby cactus and a succulent for the balcony and named them Tom and Jerry. The rest of the girls joined them in their room for a getting ready party and cranked up the music. It was the most fun and most relaxed Aubrey had felt in months.

After a pre-game at the Bella’s house, the girls made their way over to sorority row where the party was being held. Aubrey thanked her lucky stars that it wasn’t at one of the frat houses. The disgusting interiors and sticky floors still gave her the chills. This one was being held by the tri-delts and since there were a few bellas that were part of that sorority too Aubrey was excited to see some friends.

Aubrey and Chloe walked in and were immediately greeted by Jessica and Ashley, two Bellas that were part of their class too. They were escorted to the kitchen where Cynthia Rose and Fat Amy were holding court creating what looked like a very deadly concoction. It was also hot pink.

Already feeling tipsy from the shots she had taken earlier, the blonde gratefully poured herself a glass of the leftover margarita mix in the blender. She leaned against the island and watched her friends attempt to try the pink drink of death and nearly spit out her own drink at the faces they all made. Aubrey was really happy to be back at Barden.

Chloe suddenly squealed and Aubrey followed her line of sight across the room to find a tiny brunette weaving her way through the crowd looking very lost and confused.

Chloe left in a frenzy and made her way over to Beca as the entire kitchen crowded the doorway to watch the scene unfold.

Beca jumped a bit when Chloe tapped her on the shoulder from behind, but had a small smile on her face as soon as she realized who it was. Soon enough, a bright red blush could be spotted on Beca’s cheeks from across the room and the kitchen cheered before returning to their previous conversations.

It was nearly midnight and Aubrey had been dancing for the better part of an hour with the rest of her friends. Albeit very ungracefully considering the amount of tequila she had in her, but she was happy.

The house was packed, with dozens of people Aubrey had never met before and she suddenly realized that it was rush week. All of the sorority and fraternity hopefuls had descended on the house and were making fools of themselves in an attempt to score points with their house of choice.

The blonde had lost track of Chloe long ago and decided to go outside to get some fresh air. She made a detour through the kitchen to grab another margarita and enjoying the breeze on her face outside when someone came up next to her and looked out on the lake as well.

Out of the corner of her eye Aubrey took a quick look and then immediately a second one when she realized that this stranger was drop dead gorgeous. She was tall, beautiful and had a smile on her face.

“If you’re just going to stare at me, you could at least say hello you know.” The stranger said without looking at Aubrey.

In attempt to defend herself Aubrey went on the offensive, “Look here, green eyes, you encroached my outside deck space. I have every right to see who’s in my space without invitation.”

“If you wanted to get to know me all you had to do was say so.” the taller girl gave her a sly smile and gently grabbed her hand to pull her inside.

Aubrey wasn’t one for public displays of affection, especially not when dancing. What they were doing wasn’t dancing. It was straight up grinding surrounded by tons of people to the beat of some crappy edm song. Still, the blonde couldn’t find it in her brain to care. This stranger was making her feel a way she hadn’t felt since high school and there was no way she was going to let this end anytime soon.

The blonde turned around and tugged the brunette down for a deep kiss. The taller girls hands immediately went around Aubrey’s waist. Aubrey pulled away and leaned into the girl’s ear, “Want to go somewhere more private?”

The brunette responded in agreement and the two made their way up the stairs to where the private rooms were. The green-eyed girl led the way with intent and brought them to neatly kept room near the end of the hallway. She quickly closed the door and turned the lock to find Aubrey’s focused on her with her eyes quickly darkening. The tall beauty walked up to Aubrey and cupped her face to give her a quick kiss and to ask again before they started anything, “Are you sure about this?”

Aubrey took a deep look in those green eyes, filled with lust but also kindness and care.

“Yes.”


	2. 2

Aubrey woke up to the morning sun shining brightly in her eyes. It was earlier than when she would normally go for a run so she guessed a little after 6 AM. She yawned and turned over hoping to sleep in for a while longer and came face to face with a very beautiful sleeping stranger. 

Somehow Aubrey managed to keep herself from screaming out loud and realized she had no idea where she was or how she ended up in bed with whoever it was next to her. 

Seeing that her memory couldn’t be relied upon she went with good old detective work in tandem with finding a way to sneak out of there and observe proper morning after etiquette. There wasn’t much on the floors considering both girls had worn togas. Aubrey facepalmed internally when she remembered she’d have to walk back home in a toga. She managed to sneak out of the bed without a sound or disturbance to her bed mate. After dressing in her Grecian attire she paid one last look to the girl still deep in sleep in her bed and then quietly left the room. 

With her Spartan sandals in her hands, she made it down the stairs and into the kitchen. 

It looked like something exploded in there over the course of the night if the light pink tinge on the white cupboards were anything to go by, that and the many many bottles that were laying on the counters and floor. 

Aubrey made a quick pot of coffee and spotted a grocery pad on the fridge. She wrote a quick note and turned the pot off before she made her way out of the house. 

The universe was being kind to Aubrey that morning so she didn’t run into any friends, acquaintances or professors in her walk back. She did get some odd looks from the students working at the coffee cart, but the blonde needed her coffee to make it through the next 30 minutes at least. Her hangover had hit her hard and she was dreaming of her warm, comfy, inviting bed as she made her way to the Bella’s House. 

The blonde turned her key and entered the house as quietly as possible. She took a few steps towards the stairs before -

“Hello.” 

“Holy crap, Laura! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Aubrey gasped for air and walked over to kitchen island where Laura was calmly drinking her morning tea.

“You look like hell. Rough night?” Laura smirked at the red blush overtaking Aubrey’s face and decided to take pity on the girl. 

“Go get some sleep, we can talk about this later.” 

Aubrey breathed a sigh of relief, happy to not have to discuss her nightly activities when she was barely functioning as it were. She went up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom. When she opened the door the first thing the blonde heard was the sound of a rather load moan and after taking a few more steps into the room she was greeted with a sight that would scar her eyes. 

“Oh my god!” the blonde screamed. 

“Shit!” Beca shouted as she tried to cover herself and Chloe up as much as possible. 

“Bree! What are you doing here?!” Chloe looked non-plussed by her lack of clothing but somewhat peeved that her morning had been interrupted. 

“Nope. I don’t have to deal with this right now.” Aubrey stated blandly and marched out the door and back down the stairs. This was way too much excitement for one morning.

“What are you –“ 

“Hi, Laura. Bye, Laura” Aubrey quickly said as she rushed out the back door to the hammock between the trees in the backyard of the house. 

The hammock in the back had perfect shading and was high enough that it still gave a great view of the lake. For some reason no one else had seemed to master the ability to jump and settle onto it (Chloe flipped out every time). But it was one of Aubrey’s happy places. With the sun still low enough, the sophomore figured she could get at least another hour of rest before the rest of the girls woke her up. It didn’t take long for her too fall asleep to the soothing sounds of the lake. 

 

 

Stacie woke up with a splitting headache. She rubbed her eyes to wake herself up and reached across the bed to find the sheets were cool to the touch. Her memories from the night were blurry but she remembered a beautiful blonde girl with piercing blue eyes. There was a hazy image of the letter A and a long name tattooed on her left side ribs. Stacie was a little bummed to see that the girl was long gone already, although she couldn’t remember much, they definitely had a good time. 

After quickly getting dressed Stacie went downstairs to join her sorority sisters for their usual Saturday brunch. She walked into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee to find Cynthia Rose and Fat Amy sitting there as if they were waiting for her arrival. 

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Stacie questioned. The two were starting to worry her with all of their staring. 

“Is there something on my face?” 

“No, but you’re neck looks like an octopus attacked you.” Cynthis Rose plainly stated. 

“Looks like someone had a great night with the Hunter! So, who was she?” asked Fat Amy. 

“How do you know it was a girl?” 

“Well, there’s a lovely note on the coffee machine for you, mate. I know handwriting isn’t gendered but I got the girl vibe. There was coffee there too, but I drank it., thanks by the way!”. Fat Amy exclaimed. 

There was a note on the coffee maker.

“To the beautiful girl in room 221. I didn’t want to wake you, but here’s some coffee for the hangover you’ll probably have. P.S. sorry about your neck”. 

Stacie smiled in appreciation of her bedmate’s thoughtfulness. She was sad the mysterious stranger didn’t leave a name or a number though. Stacie’s musings were interrupted by CR loudly clearing out her throat. 

“Yes?” 

“What do you mean, yes?! Details, girls! What happened?! 

“My memories really wacked out. I blame your pink drink of doom.” The pair high-fived. “I just know I had an awesome time with a gorgeous girl and I have no idea who she is…” Stacie trailed off sadly. The stranger was the first person she had felt a connection with in awhile and she wished she had thought of asking for a name, a major, anything before they had started dancing. 

“I can’t believe you drank my coffee gift!” Stacie shouted sadly. 

“Damn, girl. You got it bad. We’ll make it up to you. Do you want waffles?” CR really did feel bad. Fat Amy looked way too pleased with herself. 

Stacie looked up from the counter where she’d buried her head in her arms. 

“Can they have chocolate chips?” 

“Duh. What else would I make?” 

“Oh and can we eat on the lake?!” The delta girls had a small catamaran docked next to their deck on the lake. Anyone, that wanted to take it out for a ride could as long as they only used it for a couple of hours. 

“Yes! I’ll drive” shouted Fat Amy as she rushed out of the room to grab the keys from the study room. 

It didn’t take long for the girls to get the coolers filled and enough food made for brunch on the boat. A few other girls had decided to join in since it was one of the few Saturdays they’ve have free for sometime. 

The Barden Lake was large enough that all of the Greek houses and some of the larger clubs and teams had houses surrounded it. But it wasn’t so large that anyone (Amy) was likely to get lost or crash. 

Stacie laid out on the back flat of the boat and decided to soak up the sun and nap there for awhile. It was a beautiful day. Blue skies, the sun shining, but she couldn’t keep her mind off of her blonde stranger. She felt this strange pull towards the girl though she couldn’t figure out why. Stacie knew that sometimes people felt drawn to their soulmates but there was no way to know if this girl could possibly be the one. Not to mention the lack of name. Damn, she was really regretting that. 

The brunette turned over onto her stomach to make sure she got an even tan and in the process caught a glimpse of a hammock at the edge of the Bella’s backyard. Stacie knew who the Bellas were and actually planned on auditioning herself for the group next week. She was a sophomore and had wanted to settle in her freshmen year before getting too heavily involved in non-science extracurriculars. 

Now, though, all she wanted was something that would let her breathe a little. Most of her close friends from the sorority were either in the acapella group already or planning on auditioning. 

Stacie continued to gaze at the house, thinking about what her audition song should be when she caught sight of a blonde girl swinging off of the hammock. The girl looked vaguely familiar but was too far away to make out any details. With that final look Stacie fell into a restful sleep. 

 

 

The rest of the week was a blur to Aubrey. Classes were in full swing and she was surprised by how busy she already was. She had made the final touches to her side of the bedroom and was happy with the way it turned out. 

Chloe’s side was a colorful mess but she decided to ignore it for her own sanity. 

Bellas auditions were that afternoon and all of the girls were required to attend. Strength in numbers according to Laura. Aubrey was just grateful that she wouldn’t have to audition again. 

Auditions were being held for all of the schools groups at the same time so it would be a relatively long evening followed by an even longer Bellas meeting that night to decide which girls would be joining their ranks. 

Aubrey was running a little late, surprisingly, since her business law seminar had gotten out a little late that day. Thankfully, her coffee cart was on the way to the auditorium so Aubrey made a quick pit stop to pick up her and Laura’s drink before walking over to the building. 

By the time she showed up most of the girls were already there but the auditions still hadn’t started. 

“Aubrey Posen, late, the sky must be falling!”

“Haha, Laura, this is only the second time in all the time you’ve known me” 

“I know! It must have been something quite serious, like you lost your favorite pen” Laura drolly replied while reaching for her coffee. She loved teasing the younger girl about anything and everything. 

Aubrey frowned trying to remember where she had placed her purple pen. She took a seat between Laura and Chloe while the rest of the groups filed in. 

“Ahh, I’m so excited! Beca’s been nervous all day, but she’s been practicing all week so I think she’ll kill it.” Chloe whispered in Aubrey’s ear as the performances began. 

After the incident a week prior, Chloe and Beca had become attached at the hip. It would have driven Aubrey nuts if Chloe didn’t seep so happy. And the blonde was beginning to warm up to the tiny girl, even though her choice is clothing was atrocious, it was clear how infatuated she was with Chloe. 

 

Aubrey looked up when the next girl walked out on stage. The girl was wearing the shortest jean shorts the blonde had ever seen and seemed to have legs for miles. 

“Hi, everyone! My name is Stacie Conrad and my hobbies are cuticle care and the E Network!” she finished with a wide smile. 

That voice was familiar. Aubrey looked up at Stacie and as soon as she made eye contact she felt her heart stop. The blonde inhaled sharply and the brunette’s eyes widened when she recognized the blonde. 

Both Laura and Chloe turned to Aubrey to ask if she was okay to find the blonde still staring at the girl in front of her. 

Aubrey quietly whispered, “Oh, shit”.


	3. 3

Stacie had no idea how she had managed to finish that song with her dignity intact. After locking eyes with the blonde in the fourth row she was convinced that her throat would close up and she would hurl. She doesn’t remember exactly what happened, just that she somehow made it through her rendition of “Since U Been Gone”, (one of way too many) and then ran off stage. 

It took about ten minutes for Stacie to make it back to the sorority house. Two more minutes for her to find her secret ice cream pint stashed in the back of the communal fridge. Three additional minutes of quiet bliss simply eating her beloved half-baked followed by an immediate bubble burst with the arrival of CR and Fat Amy. 

“Care to explain what in the hell happened back there?!” 

“Oye, you missed my audition. And I crushed it. Obviously. But some support would have been nice, mate!” 

“Umm, you remember the note from last week?” asked Stacie. She knew the fact that she had slept with the blonde wouldn’t have been a big deal under normal circumstances. But now that she was obviously part of the Bellas and potentially responsible for her acceptance made Stacie want to wallow in a pit of despair. 

“Who, coffee girl?” 

“Yup.” 

“What does she have to do with - wait a minute. Is blondie coffee girl?!” shouted an excited CR. 

“That skinny twig bitch?” asked Fat Amy. 

“Hey, don’t call her that! She was really nice, from what I remember.” 

“ You remember nothing.” deadpanned CR. 

“Yeah, well, I know I felt good and that’s enough.” Stacie retorted and stuck her tongue out at the pair. 

“Hang on. If you’ve already banged this girl then you’re a shoe in for the Bellas! You already gave her your best Stacie Conrad experience” winked Fat Amy. 

“ That’s terrible. No one says banged anymore.” 

“She’s right though. You have a great voice, you have friends within the group already. You’re intimately connected with blondie. I’d be shocked if you didn’t get in.” 

Stacie just groaned in response. She’d already made it a quarter of the way through her ice cream by this point and dammit if she wasn’t going to finish the whole thing. 

 

“Okay, you know what? You are going to get your party on. It’s Friday night and you’re in a funk. That is not happening on my watch. So you get two more bites of ice cream. Make sure they’re good ones. Then we are going upstairs and having our getting ready party before our pregame before our party. Any questions?” CR finished off with their plans for the night. She had seen Stacie out of sorts before but never over a person. This girl must have made some impression on her already for her to have opened the emergency ice cream stash. 

“YES!! There are two parties at the frats, one on the roof of some building somewhere, and one in a barn. We will go to them all.” Fat Amy firmly stated. 

Stacie looked at the two warily as she put away her ice cream. She knew arguing had no effect on them. And hopefully going out would keep her mind off of the Bellas and one Bella in particular. 

“Fine. But I am making the drinks before we go. Your bartending skills are truly horrendous.” 

“I would argue that they require a certain palate.” CR stated as the pair made their way upstairs to start getting ready. 

Stacie smiled to herself, excited for the night despite her reluctance. 

 

Aubrey didn’t know how she had made it through the rest of auditions after seeing the girl from the party, Stacie, she reminded herself, again. 

Both Laura and Chloe had been giving her looks for the last hour knowing how un-Aubrey it was to be caught off guard like that. She had even become used to Chloe’s tendency to just pop up out of nowhere so this was really a surprise. 

“Care to explain what just happened back there?” Asked Laura as the current Bellas walked through the door to the house. The girls were all going to collectively make decisions on the new Bella’s immediately since the auditions were fresh and then spend the rest of the night out before aca-initiation night the next day. 

Aubrey sighed as she grabbed a Gatorade from the fridge and walked towards the kitchen table where Laura and Chloe were seated. She took a large gulp of the drink knowing that they would have a lot of questions. 

“Do you remember the party last week?” Aubrey asked Chloe. 

“Obviously, it was when Beca and I got together.” Chloe stated with a dreamy look in her eyes. 

“Yeah, okay but apart from that do you remember the fact that I didn’t come home until the next morning?” 

“You never did tell me what you were up to ” said Laura. 

“I was with one, Stacie Conrad, she’s one of the delta girls” Aubrey stated. 

“YOU’RE COFFEE GIRL!” Jessica and Ashley shouted from the kitchen entrance. 

“Excuse me?” asked a confused Aubrey. 

“On Saturday, whoever Stacie had been with made her coffee and left a sweet note for her. That was you, wasn’t it? asked Ashley. 

“You made her coffee?!” asked a shocked Chloe. Aubrey hardly ever had one-night stands and when she did she would try to sneak away without a trace. 

“I was being polite!” said an exacerbated Aubrey. 

“Well, Stacie loved it. She was on cloud-nine all day.” said Jessica before she got sharply elbowed by Ashley. 

“Okay, let me get this straight. You went to a party, slept with Stacie. Made her coffee the next morning and left. Today was the first time you saw her again after the party and you both were clearly stunned. Yes?” summed up a very calm Laura. 

Aubrey nodded and waited to see what Laura would make of this situation. 

“So, when are you seeing her again?” asked a smirking Laura. 

“I guess that depends on if she makes it into the Bella’s or not?” questioned Aubrey. She hadn’t planned on ever seeing seeing Stacie again. But it seemed like the universe had other plans. At the very least they could be friends. 

 

“Oh she’s in. Her voice is fantastic, we just need to get those hand movements under control. No wonder you were into her, Bree” winked Laura as she left the kitchen to head to the living room for their meeting. 

Aubrey flushed red at Laura’s comment. Stacie Conrad was already distracting her more than she expected. 

“You like her.” Chloe stated simply as she watched Aubrey’s emotions play across her face. She had never really seen Aubrey date anyone or show the slightest amount of interest in a romantic relationship. That in and of itself told Chloe that whatever was between the pair was far from over. 

“I don’t know her well enough to know if I like her.” Aubrey quietly replied following the redhead to one of the couches.   
It didn’t take long for decisions to be made on who would be included in the newest class of Bellas. There had been just enough talented girls at auditions to fill out their ranks without excluding anyone. Since aca-initiation wasn’t until the following night, a few of the girls decided to go out and enjoy another night of partying before Bella’s training really started. That cardio was no joke. 

Chloe had once again convinced Aubrey to go out. Aubrey tried as hard as she could to resist those puppy heart eyes but even she was helpless against them. Plus, she hoped it would help her forget about a certain brunette for a little while. 

 

Stacie was drunk. The pre-game had gotten her off to a great start since she had made some incredible piña coladas, party 1 had kept her going with their jello shots, party 2 had been all about the jungle juice, and now she was at peak drunkenness at the roof party. 

Cynthia Rose came up to her with a bottle of water urging her to drink up. 

“Beer pong?” CR asked. There was a table set up in the center of the roof and Stacie was notoriously good at the game when she had had a few drinks. 

“Sure, it could be fun to defeat some frat boys. As long as the beer they have doesn’t taste like piss”. Stacie screwed up her face at the thought. That was the one downfall of these games. Every cup was filled with the most disgusting type of beer, the kind that definitely shouldn’t be for human consumption. And yet, each of the guys at these parties appeared to drink it by the kegful. 

“Eww no. They’re using water and having everyone take shots instead.” 

“Ugh, that’s almost worse.” Stacie replied as they made their way to the table. 

“YESSSSSSS!!!! WE WIN AGAIN!” shouted Chloe at one end of the table. The redhead and Aubrey had been running the table for the last several games and had had more than enough shots between the two of them at that point. 

“Alright, you suckers. Who here is brave enough to challenge the partnership of Chaubrey?!” shouted a very tipsy Aubrey Posen. 

“Oh my god, is that…” 

“I’ll take that challenge!” shouted Stacie. The brunette had yet to see who had emerged victorious from the last game, but she loved a challenge. Cynthia Rose expected this to go terribly, but she had faith in her girl and hoped this would at least be entertaining.   
“My future aca-babies! Come here you two!” Chloe grinned at the pair and hugged them both. 

“What do you mean future aca-babies?” asked CR.

“Crap. You heard nothing. But if you get kidnapped tomorrow don't be scared” giggled Chloe. 

Stacie and CR exchanged very confused looks. 

“So, it looks like you’re the competition.” Aubrey said as she sauntered up to Stacie. 

“Hope you’re ready to go down” winked Aubrey. 

“Oh, honey I’ll go down any day any time,” Stacie replied with a low voice as she stepped closer to the blonde. 

“Okaaay, you two. Not that this isn’t great. But we have a game to win, Stacie.” CR ushered Stacie to the opposite end of the table as the cups were restacked. 

Aubrey had no idea what had come over her. She rarely spoke so brazenly to anyone. She didn’t know if it was the confidence she gained from the drinks or just a general comfort she had around the brunette, but it felt good. 

Stacie blew a kiss across the table to Aubrey when she caught her staring. It was cute seeing the blonde blush so furiously. She had been surprised by the blonde’s presence, but she was happy to see that there wasn’t anything uncomfortable lingering between them. 

It didn’t take long for each team to come down to a single cup on either end. Although each team had taken significant losses, if the amount of shots they had to take was anything to go by. They were definitely evenly matched. 

It was Stacie’s turn to take the shot. She refused to look at the blonde in fear that she would get too distracted. Closing her eyes she took the shot and only opened them with she heard the tell of tale sign of the ping-pong ball hitting the water. 

“YES!” shouted Cynthia Rose. 

Stacie smiled and looked across at Aubrey to see how the blonde was preparing for her last shot. They locked eyes and Stacie could see the clear focus on the other girl’s face. 

As Aubrey was about to shoot, Stacie bent over revealing more of what was hidden under her already low-cut top. The blonde took the shot and the ball bounced off the rip off the table making Stacie and CR the clear winners. 

“SABATOGE! I CLAIM SABATOGE!” exclaimed the redhead. Aubrey was still staring at Stacie and didn’t even seem bothered by the end of their winning streak. She gave the brunette a smirk and sauntered away from the table. 

Stacie finally seemed to come back to herself and realized that the blonde was walking away from her. No, that wouldn't do. She said a quick goodbye to CR and rushed after her, eager to see where the night would take them.


	4. 4.

Aubrey left the roof and made her way down to the penthouse of the seniors who had been hosting the party. She had made it halfway across the living room when she heard the loud sound of heels quickly clicking behind her. She barely had anytime to register who was behind her when two strong hands grabbed her waist and firmly turned her. She registered sparkling green eyes before her mouth was devoured in a needy kiss. 

The blonde’s hands flew up around the taller girl’s neck and deepened the kiss. There was no use pretending that she hadn’t been wanting to do this since locking eyes with the brunette earlier in the evening. 

Stacie bit her lower lip making Aubrey gasp for a moment and pulling away. 

“Hello, stranger” 

“Stranger? Really? I think we know each other a little better than strangers, don’t you”, asked Stacie. 

“Touché, but that doesn’t mean you know me, Conrad”. 

“Lucky for you we’ll be spending a lot more time together now won’t we?” Stacie smirked, happy with the knowledge that she was joining the Bellas and that she would get to spend more time with Aubrey. 

“Right, about that. We should probably set some ground rules.” Aubrey gasped out. She was slowly losing her senses but the two of them needed to talk a little before things got out of hand. 

Stacie immediately stopped kissing Aubrey’s neck, much to the blonde’s chagrin, to hear what she had to say. 

“Alright, I’m all ears” Stacie kept her arms around Aubrey to keep her close. 

“Okay 1. We cannot and will not date. Since we’re both Bellas, I don’t want anything compromising that. 2. We can and will have sex as long as we both want to, but it won’t be anything more than that.” Stacie had started to internally frown the more rules she heard from the blonde. Not that she didn’t enjoy having sex, she did. But she like Aubrey a lot already and didn’t like not even having the possibility of dating. 

“Anything else?” asked a noticeably less chipper Stacie. 

“Yes” Aubrey said, seeing Stacie begin to frown, as she cupped Stacie’s jaw and brought her gaze up to the brunette’s. “I want us to get to know each other, for real, as friends. Is that okay?” 

“I think I can live with that.” But I have a rule as well, Stacie replied. 

“Of course” 

“You’re not allowed to fall in love with me.” 

“Presumptive much?” asked a smirking Aubrey.

“No, but you seem to have all these limits on us already. I thought I’d add one that you supposedly cannot cross”. 

“Deal.” 

“Deal. Now can we please get back to what we were doing?” Stacie practically begged the blonde. They were talking way more than they should be. 

 

Aubrey smiled in response before she leaned in to kiss the taller girl once again. 

 

 

Stacie woke up to the feeling of strong arms wrapped around her and the feeling of gentle breathing against her neck. She slowly turned in the other girls arms being careful not to wake her so she could have a few moments just watching the blonde sleep. 

Aubrey looked peaceful this way. No tension on her forehead, no apparent schedule to adhere to, she was just at rest. 

Unlike the previous week, Stacie could remember every single moment from the night before. Her head felt like it was being split into two, but she remembered everything and that was more than enough.   
The brunette moved her gaze down from the blonde’s face, across smooth arms to the sight of a neat script on her skin. Anastasia. 

Stacie felt like someone had thrown a cold bucket of water on her head. This wasn’t possible. 

She thought of her own tattoo that was mostly hidden on the back of her neck. Aubrey. Hardly anyone every saw it, since she kept her hair down and long on purpose. Whenever anyone asked her about it she just shrugged and said she didn’t have one. She had never met anyone, boy or girl, with that name and assumed that once she did they’d be the one for her. 

Now that she had finally met an Aubrey, Stacie was struck with how it might not be so easy navigating those rules after all. 

But Stacie, had one advantage, hardly anyone knew that her full name was Anastasia. She hardly ever used it, except for legal purposes and preferred to go by Stacie. 

The brunette decided then and there that there was no use telling Aubrey about her tattoo until their non-relationship had moved up to at least friendship status. 

Stacie moved even more into the blonde’s embrace, wanting to capture every moment she could with the other girl while she could. 

“Mmm, good morning” 

Stacie’s heart skipped a beat hearing the sleeping drawl in Aubrey’s voice. 

“Morning, gorgeous”, Stacie murmured as she leaned in to kiss the other girl. 

Aubrey blushed as she deepened the kiss while their hands began to wander, and then Stacie’s stomach grumbled loud enough for the entire house to hear. 

Aubrey drew back laughing and Stacie joined in too, the two of them fell even further into their laughing fits when Aubrey’s stomach decided to respond to Stacie’s hunger cry as well. 

“So, food, maybe?” 

“Yes, please. And coffee. In an IV” Stacie replied while still refusing to get off of the other girl. 

“I can’t make you food until you set me free” Aubrey attempted to say with a straight face. However, she had a topless Stacie Conrad above her and there was little conviction in her words.   
Stacie decided to take pity on the other girl and leaned in to kiss her once more before rolling off of her and sitting up to look around the room. 

“Where are we anyways?” 

“My room. Well, mine and Chloe’s. The place still needs some finishing touches but the view from the balcony is the best.” Aubrey answered as she made her way to the closet to find some fresh clothes for both of them. 

Aubrey found a pair of yoga pants and shirt for her and some shorts and her freshman Bellas shirt for Stacie to get changed into. 

“There’s a bathroom down the hall, all of my stuff is in the upper two right hand drawers and there should be some new toothbrushes in there. You’re welcome to any of it. I’ll be downstairs slaving away over your breakfast.” Aubrey grinned as she left the room to head downstairs. She had emergency toiletry bags in every bathroom of the house considering her tendency to get sick. 

 

 

After going through her morning routine Aubrey made her way to the kitchen to start making some breakfast for the two of them. She had always found cooking to be quite therapeutic and as she gathered the ingredients to make pancakes, her mind wandered to the night before and the girl she had woken up with. 

It wasn’t often that Aubrey had a good night’s recent, she was always trying to keep so many things in order at a time that she just couldn’t shut her mind off at night. But last night, she had slept better than she had in months. 

She was stunned at her boldness the previous night. It seemed like any time she was around the brunette; all of her hesitations and boundaries just fell away. That’s why she had set those rules the night before. Aubrey didn’t trust herself to not fall for Stacie, she couldn’t deny that she was already starting to develop feelings. And for that she needed to create some boundaries even if it hurt. There were too many restrictions she put on herself, for school, for the Bellas, for life, and Stacie was not part of her plan. So Aubrey decided to compromise, she would let herself have a taste of bliss and let that be enough to satisfy her. 

Aubrey had been lost in her thoughts for sometime and before she realized it the pancakes had been made and a still drowsy Stacie walked into the kitchen. 

“Okay, that smells amazing” Stacie stated as she poured some coffee for both of them. 

Aubrey just smiled and brought the food over to the table so they could eat. 

“And this coffee is like elixir from the gods! Bless you, Aubrey.” 

“Haha, I’ll take it. Now eat up, you’re going to need your energy for what the Bellas have planned for you today” 

“Do I get a hint on what I’m in for??” 

“Nope, just make sure your schedule is clear from 5 PM on. Oh and wear comfortable clothing” 

Stacie sighed at the lack of information but continued to scarf down her breakfast. Aubrey really did know how to cook well. 

“You know, you should be a chef. You could cook all the time and I’d get to eat delicious food all the time. It’s a win win situation. 

“Or I could just cook for you anytime you want.” 

Stacie was surprised by the open invitation from the blonde, but she’d take anything if she could spend more time with Aubrey. 

“Oh, you’re going to regret having said that, especially come finals week”. 

Aubrey smiled. She liked spending time with Stacie, the girl always seemed happy in the moment and her smile was infectious. Even if she wanted to, which she didn’t, Aubrey couldn’t help but feel relaxed in the brunette’s presence. 

“I doubt it. I’ll probably be calling you for some stress relief anyways.” The blonde smirked as she got up to clear the dishes. 

After working together to clean the dishes and the rest of the kitchen, Stacie went upstairs to grab the rest of her clothing and head home. 

Aubrey watched her gather her stuff from the door with a slight frown. She didn’t want the other girl to go, but she felt better knowing that initiation was tonight so they’d get to spend more time. 

They headed downstairs in a comfortable silence, both girls were happy that there wasn’t any awkward tension between the two of them. But at the same time, felt like something was still missing. 

At the front door, Stacie leaned in to give Aubrey a quick kiss goodbye. Aubrey surprised her by deepening the kiss and pulling the other girl closer by the waist. 

“I’ll see you tonight, okay” Aubrey whispered against Stacie lips. 

Stacie looked into those sparkling eyes and could see the peace radiating out of them. She hadn’t even left yet and she was missing the blonde, but her consolation was that they’d be spending more time together tonight and in the months to come. She smiled softly and kissed her once again before turning and walking away from Aubrey.


	5. 5

Stacie was hanging out in her room painting her nails and watching a new documentary on Netflix when suddenly her bedroom door was thrown open. She could barely register a flash of red hair before she found her eyes covered in a blindfold and absolutely unable to see anything.

“You’re being kidnapped!” Chloe shouted gleefully. 

“That’s not usually a good thing, you know!” Stacie retorted as she was moved towards the door. 

“Also, I blame you for the disaster my nails will be a result of this, I hope you’re happy.” Jessica and Ashley both laughed from beside her, knowing that the brunette was genuinely a little upset by the interruption of her nail routine. 

“Get ready for the greatest night of your life!” Chloe yelled. 

“You do realize I’m right here, don’t you?” 

“Yes, but this is the greatest night ever!” 

The group made their way to the Bellas house across the campus, with only a few stumbles along the way thanks to Stacie. The other initiates were being “kidnapped” by the other Bellas and brought to the house as well. They made their way to the basement where Stacie found herself placed in a line next to Beca and Fat Amy, based on the grumbling she could here. 

Stacie could smell incense and the sound of a bass drum with an ever increasing tempo. 

“Welcome Bellas, old and new, to the most holiest of nights. You have been selected for a great task. To make music with your mouths alongside your aca-sisters”, began Laura. 

“For this year’s initiates we have the following: Fat Amy, Cynthia Rose, Flo, Emily, Beca, and Stacie.” 

Each girl’s blindfold was ripped off their face as their names were called, and they were greeted with the sight of the current Bellas in dark robes holding candles. 

Stacie looked around and saw each new Bella standing across from a current Bella. Lily was standing across Fat Amy, followed by Jessica, then Ashley, Laura, Chloe, and finally Aubrey. 

When she caught Aubrey’s eye, she was startled to see a very serious looking Aubrey staring at her. 

They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly, Aubrey broke their gaze and looked away allowing Stacie’s mind to return to the present and mumbling the last bit of the honor code. Something about vocal cords being ripped out by wolves. 

After drinking the blood of sister’s past, only after an encouraging nod from Chloe, the very cult like feeling was lifted and the lights turned on did Stacie let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. 

Someone put on dance music and all of the girls began to celebrate, realizing the initiation was officially over. 

They went upstairs out of the very creepy basement where CR was already holding court pouring shots for all of the girls. 

“ACA-BITCHES!” screamed Chloe. “We have 15 minutes before we go meet the others, so drink up!” 

“Aww yeah, I can’t wait to get my hands on some of those trebles!” Amy exclaimed. 

“Duuuude…! Vocal cords, pain… keep it down.” whispered Beca. 

Aubrey rolled her eyes and smirked at what she overheard. 

Chloe managed to drag her into taking a couple of shots and by the time they all walked across to the amphitheater, Aubrey was noticeably more giggly. 

She found the keg and poured herself a beer. Aubrey preferred to observe people and figure out why they acted a certain way. Tonight, and it seemed to be a growing a habit, she was observing Stacie. 

Initiation was the first time she had seen Stacie show really any sign of nervousness. But it was a joy to watch the brunette behave with such freedom around her friends. That kind of unrestrained happiness wasn’t something Aubrey was used to. But she found herself drawn to it. And drawn to the brunette that it was emanating from. 

As she continued to observe Stacie, it was clear that the girl had many admirers. The trebles and the high notes seemed to flock to her, eager to find out who this new recruit was. 

Aubrey wanted to see how the taller girl would react to all of the flirtatious attention she was receiving. The blonde wasn’t jealous per se, she had no right to be. Their arrangement already made it clear that they weren’t dating. But that didn’t mean Aubrey didn’t feel a pang of something at the thought of Stacie reciprocating any of the advances she was receiving. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” asked Beca. Aubrey was startled out of her hard staring and hadn’t noticed the small DJ come and sit next to her on one of the benches. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be attached to my lovely roommate?” Aubrey replied. 

“Chloe is in the middle of concocting something called jiggle juice and I have no desire to find out what is in that drink”, retorted Beca. 

Aubrey nodded in agreement, Chloe at initiation was a force to be reckoned with. 

“So are you going to tell me why you’re majorly creeping on Conrad?” 

“I’m making sure all of the new Bellas are safe and she is surrounded by very suspicious characters”. 

“Ahh of course. Nothing at all to do with the toner you have for her.” 

“Oh my god, you’ve been around Chloe too much already” 

Beca just smiled and mulled over the fact that Aubrey hadn’t denied anything. 

“I’m going to go get a refill, you want anything?” Beca asked. Aubrey shook her head and returned to the stormy thoughts in her head. 

“Aubrey! There’s smoke coming out of your ears!!” Stacie exclaimed as she rushed up to the blonde. 

“What?! Have you lost it?” Aubrey asked even as she subtly checked the temperature of her ears. 

“Nope. You’re so hot, you’re on fire baby” Stacie replied with a smug grin. 

“That doesn’t even make any sense, you said there was smoke.” 

“Well, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, so yeah… just go with it!” 

“Very clever, Stacie” 

“Thank you, thank you. Now why are you brooding over here, you’re supposed to be dancing and singing!” Stacie exclaimed as she gestured over to the crowd of Bellas singing along to the speakers. 

It had taken the brunette forever to get out of talking to the Trebles. They weren’t all bad looking but she only had eyes for Aubrey. Unfortunately, every time she tried to leave and make her way over to the blonde someone pulled her into a new conversation. 

She had been trying to get close to Aubrey all night but had only now been successful and half the night had already gone by. They had been drinking and partying long enough, she just wanted to change into her pajamas and go to sleep. The semester had only been in session for a couple of weeks and she was already over this scene. 

“I happen to be enjoying my beer. What happened to your flock of admirers?” Aubrey cursed herself for asking, but the question was already out of her mouth. She chugged the rest of her beer to hide the blush on her face. 

“I do believe I’m looking at her right now.” Stacie smiled sweetly, knowing exactly why Aubrey was avoiding looking at her. Stacie found the pseudo-jealousy weirdly nice, at least that meant Aubrey cared enough to see what the brunette had been doing for the night. And if Aubrey didn’t like the idea of other people flirting with Stacie, then maybe there was a chance after all. 

They’re staring contest was interrupted by the loud growl of Stacie’s stomach. Aubrey laughed loudly at the surprise sound and at the look of shock on Stacie’s face as well. 

“So, someone didn’t eat dinner I gather? 

“I was kidnapped!! There were no pit stops for food.” Stacie responded sadly. She hadn’t even realized how long it had been since she last ate. 

“You know there are a couple of food trucks that hang near the frats on weekends. Do you want tacos?” Aubrey was actually kind of hungry herself and the idea of getting to spend more time with the brunette plus food made for a great 2:00 AM plan. 

“Oh hell yes. That sounds amazing.” 

Aubrey smiled and told Stacie to wait at the table while she went and told Chloe and Laura that she was heading out. They both stopped arguing once they learned that Stacie was part of the plan as well. 

“Have fun you two!” Chloe slurred and swayed as Beca tried to keep her upright. 

“Make good choices!” said Laura. 

Aubrey just rolled her eyes in response and walked back to the tall brunette waiting for her with a brilliant smile. Her stomach did a flip at seeing the other girl’s happiness at seeing her walk back towards her. 

“You ready?” 

“Let’s do this.” Stacie said and took ahold of Aubrey’s hand as the blonde led the way to the food trucks.


	6. 6

After getting their taco orders the pair walked back towards the delta house to eat on the dock behind the house. They sit on the edge shoulder to shoulder with their feet dangling over and their toes lightly brushing against the lake’s surface. 

Stacie audibly moans after she takes her first bite into the chicken taco. 

“Okay, this is amaaaazing! How have I never tried these before?” she mumbles around a mouthful of another taco. 

Aubrey smiles at her reaction and explains that the truck is on a rotating schedule so they’re not always in the same place each day. Thankfully, the schedule is posted on their Instagram and they always update it a couple of weeks in advance. 

They eat in comfortable silence, neither having realized how truly hungry they both were until food was presented to them. Instead they admire the beautiful reflection of the moon on the lake and the brilliant night sky above them. 

“There are so many stars up there. How many do you think there are?” Aubrey muses out loud. 

“Well on a night like tonight there are about a thousand that we can visibly see, since the moon is out tonight, we can’t see as many as usual. But there are at least a 100 billion stars in the universe. Since the universe is ever expanding, I guess the real answer is that there isn’t one. There’s an infinite number.” Stacie finishes her thought and looks over to see Aubrey watching her with a small smile on her face and a look of extreme interest. 

“Sorry, I know that was a lot” says Stacie missing Aubrey’s immediate frown at the comment. The brunette gets lost in her thoughts remembering that not everyone appreciates her science facts and love for space. Plenty of guys in the past had been turned off by her wealth of knowledge. That’s why she tends to keep that part of herself hidden from most people she meets. All of her friends know what she’s passionate about, but she has a hard time opening this side of herself up to anyone. 

“No, it wasn’t! You’re obviously passionate about science, that’s a good thing. Are you majoring in astronomy or something? Because if you aren’t, you should really consider it.” 

“I am actually a double major in Astronomy and Physics.” Stacie still expects to hear a scoff at this statement, since that’s what she usually gets but instead she sees Aubrey nod thoughtfully to herself and look up at the sky. 

“That makes perfect sense. Why wouldn’t you want to learn more about something so beautiful?” 

“Exactly.” Stacie whispers as she gazes across at Aubrey. She knows the moment is cheesy, but she can’t help herself. Aubrey just keeps on surprising the brunette. To show her appreciation at the girl’s kindness, Stacie reaches across, cups Aubrey’s jaw and pulls her into a slow and tender kiss. 

After a few moments Aubrey’s pulls back just barely and asks, “What was that for?”. 

“For being you, Aubrey.” Aubrey hums in response and pulls Stacie closer to deepen the kiss. 

 

Aubrey wakes up the next morning to the comfortable feeling of Stacie’s arms wrapped around her and the length of her body pressed against her back. After letting the warmth settle into her bones, she reaches to grab her phone off of Stacie’s bed side table and sees that its nearly 10:00 AM already. 

“Crap, crap, crap” Aubrey mumbles to herself as she attempts to disentangle from Stacie’s limbs. She searches around the bedroom for her clothing, thankful she hadn’t worn anything particularly scandalous the night before. She grabs her phone again and sends a quick message to Laura before resuming her attempts to put on clothing. 

Her attempts aren’t quiet enough and Stacie rolls across the bed in search for Aubrey and sleepily realizes that there’s an empty space where the blonde should be. She blearily opens her eyes to find Aubrey half-dressed and struggling to put on her bra. 

Stacie’s insecurities come crashing into her as she realizes that Aubrey was going to just leave again, without a single goodbye. 

“You’re leaving?” the brunette asks, quickly deciding that it would be better for her to be upfront with her emotions and feelings than hide anything, for the most part at least. 

Aubrey is startled out of her bra struggle, she hadn’t even realized that the brunette had woken and was watching her get dressed. 

“Hey, yeah I have to, but I don’t want to. You’re a very comfy blanket.” Aubrey tries for humor. 

“So don’t go, you can stay, and we can have waffles.” Stacie argues. 

Aubrey makes her way over to the bed and lies down next Stacie leaning on her side to look at her directly. She gently caresses her cheek and leans in for a quick kiss. 

“Waffles sound magical. But, I have brunch plans, that’s why I have to go.” 

“Oh.” Stacie replies, not expecting that as the reason. 

Noticing Stacie’s less joyful tone, Aubrey continues, “They’re with Laura. We have brunch every Sunday at 10:15 AM.” This piques Stacie’s interest, she could tell that the two were close, but weekly brunch dates was another level of friendship.

“You guys must be pretty close to do brunch each week” remarks Stacie. 

“We are. But there’s another reason too. She and I both grew up in the deep south and were always going to church every Sunday. The habit’s just kind of ingrained in both of us to go every week. But since neither of us really cared for any of the ones around here we just have our own version of it as Sunday brunch. We talk about whatever we want and hang out”, finished Aubrey. She knew not everyone was particularly comfortable with talking about faith, and although her Sunday plans were really just brunch with Laura, the reasoning behind it meant a lot to her. She wasn’t sure where Stacie stood on that whole front, but all that really mattered to Aubrey was that she still respected her. 

Stacie had kept a passive face as Aubrey explained her brunch decision. Internally, she was impressed. There weren’t many people that could present something so important to them in such a simple way. She could tell it meant a lot to Aubrey and that she had strong spiritual roots. She could also tell that although Aubrey seemed a little nervous sharing this part of her. She was radiating an inner peace. It was curious to see the blonde in such a state. For Stacie personally, it didn’t matter either way. She could tell that Aubrey was a kind and respectful person, nothing else really mattered. 

“That’s a beautiful tradition.” replied Stacie. Aubrey let out a breath that she didn’t even know she was holding. She leaned in and kissed the brunette before checking the time again. She still had about 10 minutes left before brunch. 

“Dang, I really have to go. But I promise, we can have breakfast next time, okay?” 

“I’m holding you to that Posen”, said a smiling Stacie. 

 

Aubrey rushed across campus to the local café where Laura was waiting for her. 

“I see someone never went home”, remarked Laura as Aubrey sat down across from her completely out of breath. 

“Coffee. Please. Just give me coffee and I’ll tell you anything”, begged Aubrey. Somehow a waitress showed up out of nowhere and filled up her cup. The pair had been such consistent customers that the staff had gotten to know them pretty well too. 

“Thanks, Jen”, said Aubrey gratefully. 

“No problem hon, I already put in your usual order too”, Jen smiled as she left the pair to catch up. 

“So, I do believe you’ve had a busy couple of weeks. I’m ready for my first official life update of the year.” Laura eagerly waited for Aubrey to begin talking. She had never seen the blonde show up late so many times in such a small period of time. She had also never seen the blonde seem so excited. There was a nervous energy coming off of the other girl in waves. 

“Well my classes are going well. I’m taking four this semester, and I know that’s a lot with the Bellas and all of the other activities, but I think if I manage my time well enough it should be fine. I still need to go and buy a planner for the academic year, my laptop calendar isn’t nearly as effective. Also my running schedule seems to be having issues, maybe I need to find some other way to get cardio—” 

“Right, cardio, let’s talk about another form of cardio you’ve been having, also known as one Anastasia Conrad” interrupted Laura. The blonde was rambling so much and she could tell the only way to actually get this conversation going anywhere would be to make the other girl focus. She failed to notice that as soon as she had finished talking, the blonde had turned pale and a little like she was about to vomit.” 

“Aubs, are you okay?” Laura reached across the table to grab ahold of Aubrey’s hand. Her hand was freezing, despite them being in Georgia at the end of summer. The girl looked like she was about to bolt out of the place or spontaneously combust. 

Suddenly, Aubrey jumped out of her seat and made a bee-line to the bathroom. Laura watched her go realizing that the nervous puking habit wasn’t fully out of her system yet. 

 

Aubrey made it to the bathroom just in time. After a few minutes she was finally able to take a breath and went over to the sink to rinse out her mouth. She looked up into the mirror and saw such a terrified version of herself staring back at her. Hearing the name Anastasia, was like a shock to the system. She hadn’t even considered the fact that the Anastasia on her ribs could be the girl that she had woken up with only an hour before. Although there was always a chance that Stacie might not be her soulmate, there were other people out in the world that had that name after all. She couldn’t shake the fact that there had felt like some underlying energy coursing through her and the both of them every time they were together. The fact that she had already opened up to the brunette and become so comfortable around her was another clue. Aubrey opens her purse to grab her emergency toothbrush and toothpaste. After quickly brushing her teeth and rinsing her mouth, she puts the brush and paste away. She looks in the mirror again, shakes her head to stop herself from spiraling and after taking a few more deep breaths, goes back out to the patio of the café where Laura is waiting. 

“Are you okay?”, asks a very concerned Laura.

“I’m not sure. You said, Anastasia Conrad, right? That’s Stacie’s first name?” Aubrey asks with a slight tremble in her voice. 

“Yeah…I only know because of the forms the Bellas have to fill out. Why does it matter what her first nam—oh shit!” Laura finally puts the pieces together and understands why Aubrey is freaking out so badly. 

“She’s your soulmate.” Laura firmly states. 

“We don’t know that.” Aubrey snaps back.

“Oh, come on, you know just as well as I do that this relationship isn’t like anything you’ve ever had before.” 

“We’re not in a relationship, we’re just friends.” Aubrey murmurs in her turn. Although there was nothing left in her stomach to vomit, she starting to get a bit of a migraine and her stomach was starting to her from the anxiety she felt about all of this. 

“Oh, that’s rich. You and I are friends and we sure as hell aren’t doing what the two of you have been for the past week.” Laura doesn’t know what to do to get through to Aubrey. To get her to actually talk about her feelings when it comes to this. Usually the pair of them can get through these things with absolute ease but today, Aubrey’s just being difficult. 

Aubrey just shrugs in response, too caught up in her thoughts to really talk this through with Laura. The beautiful feeling of peace she had had that morning has been replaced with a gut-wrenching anxiety. 

Jen comes over and brings their breakfast orders. Although the appetite they had both had when they first sat down was decidedly gone. 

“Honey, are you okay?” Jen asks after seeing Aubrey’s distraught face. She had seen the girls come in so many times that she felt like they were her own nieces at this point. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

Laura gestures Jen over to her and whispers in her ear, “She just got some shocking news, and I don’t think that its being processed to well. Can we get this to go instead if that’s okay?” 

“Of course, and I’ll give you guys some lattes to go as well. You both look like you could use them.” 

After getting their food and the fresh caramel lattes to go, the pair walk back towards the Bellas house in silence. 

“I don’t think I can see Stacie anymore.” Aubrey finally says. 

“Well, that's impossible. She’s a Bella now so you’ll have to see her a little.” Laura gently responds. “Don’t make any rash decisions, talk to Stacie first. If you meant it when you said you were becoming friends, then respect that friendship and tell her what’s going on.” 

Aubrey nods in response as they make their way up the stairs into the house and out the back door to the deck. They sit down on the outdoor couch and take a moment to enjoy the beautiful day. 

Aubrey quietly says, “Thank you, Laura. For everything.” 

Laura moves closer to the other girl and pulls her into a warm embrace that Aubrey quickly melts into. The older girl feels more than sees that Aubrey has started to cry and holds her even tighter. 

“It’ll all work out in the end. You’ll see.” she replies and continues to hold the other girl.


End file.
